Government Shutdown Means Free Spay/Neuter Surgeries, Dog Food, and More for PETA's 2018 Agency of the Year
For Immediate Release:
January 22, 2019
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Norfolk, Va. – The only military branch currently operating without a budget is the U.S. Coast Guard, which was named PETA’s 2018 Agency of the Year for ending the use of animals in deadly trauma training drills and rescuing hundreds of animals during Hurricane Florence—so PETA is stepping in to help.
The group is offering Coast Guard personnel—and other government workers affected by the shutdown in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area—free spay or neuter services along with free rabies vaccinations for their animal companions on PETA’s fleet of mobile veterinary clinics. Appointments should be made by calling 757-622-7382, extension 3, or going to PETA.org/SpayNeuterAppt and mentioning the shutdown offer, which is available to those with valid government-issued work identification. PETA is also sending free dog food to personnel in Cape May, New Jersey, the town profiled in a recent story in the Washington Post, and Coast Guard personnel facing hardship are invited to call 757-622-PETA for assistance with their animal companions.
“PETA’s 2018 Agency of the Year award was more than just kudos and a plaque—it was a promise to have boots on the ground in times of need,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “The Coast Guard has helped save the lives of so many animals, and it’s an honor for PETA to help personnel care for their own animals during this unprecedented government shutdown.”
In addition, because the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Care office has abandoned its hotline for reporting abuse, PETA is encouraging anyone who witnesses or hears about possible violations of animal-protection regulations in a laboratory, roadside zoo, circus, slaughterhouse, puppy mill, or other animal-exploiting facility to contact the group at 757-962-TELL or [email protected].
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—teamed up with wives of Coast Guard personnel last week to donate bags of dog food to government employees in need.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
